


Lights in the Wood

by Alliance (Xazz)



Series: Cypress Hall [2]
Category: Flight Rising
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-05-25 05:42:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14970305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xazz/pseuds/Alliance





	Lights in the Wood

[Johanna](http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&id=332919&tab=dragon&did=172145)was affixing her rudimentary armor for her next patrol. She missed the metal of her old armor but she had no gold, no gems, and goods to buy or barter for a new set. So she had this to get her through the scrapes she was getting into until she could afford something metal or magic that would help. To get there she was selling her services to other clans. She’d train their members who wished to become members of the Lightweaver’s Exalted and in return, they’d pay her coin. Standard mercenary grunt work she hated but no one else would provide for Layali but her. Rahab had been before, bringing his ‘sister’ back fish or bugs or bunches of sticks since she’d eat just about anything but they’d both been so dreadfully thin when she’d arrived. Now that she was here they were eating better but she was still worried about Layali and her weird little fish of a brother.

She felt more than saw [Layali](http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&id=332919&tab=dragon&did=35135530) looking at her from around the corner. Johanna had taught her to take on a secondary form she was _shocked_ how young of a form Layali had. A secondary form always betrayed the actual age of a dragon even if they acted older or younger. While large enough to be a young adult dragon she was hardly a girl. A very skittish young girl with perfect Wind eyes here deep in this swamp so far from the Plateau. What had driven a Progenitor of a Wind clan so far afield all the way out to the Sunbeam Ruins? Johanna had yet to get anything fully concrete out of Layali other than she couldn’t stay. That was all she’d say on the matter.

“I know you’re there, girl,” Johanna said as she pulled her silver hair back to fit it under her helmet.

“What? I was quiet,” Layali protested.

Johanna smiled a little to herself. “Yes, you were very quiet,” she assured Layali, grabbing her gloves and going over to the girl. She was about half Johanna’s size and had time yet to grow up. Looking at her Johanna was reminded of another little girl who looked up to her and her chest hurt. She shook the thought away. Now was not the time for such thoughts. Kaley hated her now. Dwelling on the past would do her no good. She crouched down in front of Layali and took her hands in her own. “But _I_ am very good at hearing little girls sneak up on me,” she gently tweaked Layali’s nose and was rewarded with a rarely seen smile.

“Do you _have_ to go?” Layali asked as Johanna stood up again.

“Yes. I’ll be home after dark, stay in the tree,” she said sternly.

“I planned on it,” Layali said, pouting a little. The first thing Johanna had done after buying herself some slightly better armor than simple leather was pay some druids to expand the hollow in the huge bald cypress Layali had called her home so it had multiple hollows in it for the both of them to sleep and a place for them to have common space in. Without Layali’s large form to take up so much space the room needed to accommodate the two humis didn’t even take up half of the width of the trunk.

“Good girl,” Johanna said and patted her head but telling Layali to leave was a useless request. Layali never left the trunk. Too wary. The one time Johanna had forced her to she’d been stricken by a vision that given her horrible seizures and she’d started screaming. The cypress tree seemed to dull whatever terrible gift she had.

“I don’t want you to go,” Layali said, grabbing onto her breastplate.

“I know but we need gold,” Johanna said gently. “You need something better to wear than that smock.” Layali just started whining back in her throat. “Stop that,” Johanna scolded her. Cowed Layali did so and let go of her breastplate, looking away. “I’ll be back before you wake in the morning.” Layali didn’t answer her or look at her. Johanna pulled on her gloves before taking a knee in front of her and with a finger under her chin gently moved Layali’s head to face her again. “I’ll come back,” she said. Layali nodded, still looking down. She stroked Layali’s soft black hair, “And I’ll be here all day tomorrow. Don’t be sad.”

“I’m not sad,” Layali huffed and stalked off with all the manner of a child. Johanna just chuckled and stood up.

She made sure she was properly outfitted and her hand went down to her hip and… found nothing. She cursed under her breath. Right. No sword. She didn’t have the money for a sword. She’d been a fool to leave her sword in the Labyrinth with her armor. Even that had been too heavy to fly with when she’d been so hurt. She shook her head to clear it a bit and left her room, closing the curtain, and going down to the exit of the tree. “Layali, I’m leaving now,” she called up to the other cavern in the tree that you got into via a ladder that had been carved into the wood and overlooked the common area. She waited. Layali was still pouting about Johanna leaving her here. Again. She sighed a little, her antenna drooping a bit when it appeared Layali wasn’t going to make a second appearance.

She started climbing out of the tree when a streak of color crawled up and along the opening. It was [Rahab](http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&id=332919&tab=dragon&did=35135531). The freak of a fae that Johanna hated looking directly at because of his horrible deformity. He, in turn, was absolutely terrified of her and that he’d get so close meant it was his sister. She turned around and saw Layali crouched by the edge of her sleeping area. Johanna smiled slightly and waved at her. Layali didn’t move for a second and then she waved. “Don’t look at the lights in the Woods,” she said about as ominously as Johanna could possibly imagine a twelve-year-old could say. 

“I— okay,” Johanna said, taking the warning seriously, “I’ll do that.”

“Don’t look at the lights,” Layali said again seriously.

“I won’t,” Johanna said. “I’ll be home soon,” and she finished pulling herself out of the hole in the tree and rolled her neck, stretched out her wings, and took off to go find her new recruits out beyond Lightweaver’s Laugh.

She found the two young dragons waiting nervously by the pool that Lightweaver’s Laugh fell into from nearly a mile up and joined the Sea. They were in better armor than her, gifted by their established clans. When she landed in front of them they were wary of her small, outwardly fragile humi form. One was a Snapper and the other was an Imperial. She took one look at them, asked their names and told them to follow her. She jogged away from the pond and down the beach towards where the Wood was swampy in the shade of the Dusk Break. It was one of the many places Johanna had found known as the Mire in whatever region she’d visited and like most mires was full of toridae, psyworms, shellions and the occasional cerdae. This mire had the added bonus of wartoads, meaning it sucked but gave her a good opportunity to show these green than green warriors why it was okay to run away.


End file.
